Mitering Large Width Boards

Part of my kitchen remodeling involves cutting and mitering really
nice stained 6" wide molding boards that cover the gap between the top
of the wall cabinets and the ceiling. They are installed vertically.
(Crown molding gets installed on top of that.) The throat of my
compound miter saw is too small to make that cut vertically or laying
flat. I have one of those cheap "table saws" ... its really just a
table with an old circular saw mounted underneath. Unfortunately, it
doesn't tilt 45 for all of the corners I need to cut. I cut the end
off of one long piece by hand with a new/good circular saw using a
fence clamped to board as a guide but that won't work on smaller
pieces. Plus its not as accurate.
I seem to have 2 options...1) go buy a new half decent quality table
saw or 2) lay the board flat on the miter saw, cut as much as I can
with the blade tilted 45, then flip and rotate the board to cut the
rest. While I usually look for any excuse to buy new tools, a new
table saw won't get used much after this project. (And no...I don't
know anyone I can borrow a good table saw from.)
Has anyone used method #2 with any success?? I want the corners to be
really tight...I don't want this to be a "caulk and putty" job! I
think this will result in miscuts and some wasted wood but thought I
would check first.
Thanks.
--Jeff

I thought about that option. That works for long pieces where there
is enough room to clamp a guide (already done that). But there are
several pieces that will be 2"-6" (around a deep pantry cab or around
the corners of an extended center cab that juts out 2" from the
others). Not enough room for clamping.
--Jeff

...
How well this will work will depend mostly on how good your saw is and
how well you can manipulate it--I've done things like that, but it isn't
much fun. Of course, if you don't have a tremendous number to cut and
have time, it's "only" time...
(3) A good miter saw instead of a table saw would be far better for this
job (the work stays still instead of moving)...
(4) Make the cut approximate w/ a guide on either the table saw or the
miter saw or even a hand saw w/ a clamp guide and use a shooting board
and sharp block plane to clean up the joint. This is surprisingly quick
and easy.
--

But do you know someone who would let you use their saw? Or,
someone who would make the cuts for you on their equipment?
Also, another possibility might be a local college. Many
have good shops and often are happy to help a member of the
community with such a small job.
Good luck with it,

If the crown is going on top of it, can you rip it at a point that the
crown will cover but still narrow enough for the miter saw to handle?
If it has a relief cut out on the back you'd have to add a spacer...
okay this plan is sounding like a PITA.
-Leuf

I didn't see it mentioned but...
It wasn't until I had my house almost finished that I discovered it.
Harbor Freight has _cheap_ sliding, compound miter saws. I don't know
if they do currently but mine only ran $49 IIRC. It runs quite
accurate angles on wide stock. Kicked my rear for not buying a saw
like that years prior. Amazing how simple they make things. Had I but
known, I would have paid big bucks for one way back.
Harry K

it up under those rushed conditions.
HD and Sears both sell basic table saws for ~$100. (HD has a Ryobi on
sale for $99.) I know you "get what you pay for" so I'm not rushing
over to pick one up today without some research.
I would not suggest a table saw for a mitering project. A miter saw or even
a miter box is going to serve that need far better. This becomes even more
true with the cheap table saws which do not have table enough to properly
support long stock, or decent miter fences to properly align and carry a
board through the blade. You'll be spending more of that valuable time that
you don't have a lot of, just fooling with the wrong tool for the job. I
think you're asking for a lot of trouble with this approach. Not to
mention, you'd be getting a real piece of junk - not even worth the $100 you
spent.

The problem isn't just that it's cheap, it's that
a table saw requires a number of adjustments.
Your saw probably isn't perfect at 90 degrees either.
There are step by step table saw tuneup procedures that
you will have to implement before doing finish
carpentry, and that means... now.
For 45 degree check, saw a scrap (straight) board
at 45, rotate the two pieces to join at 90 degrees, and see if
it matches a (known good) square.
A complete tune checks the blade for wobble, the parallelism
of the blade to the miter slots, the squareness of the miter
fence, the squareness of the rip fence face, the parallelism
of the rip fence to the miter slots, and maybe other things
that your tabletop saw doesn't allow. Feeler gages, or
vernier caliper, or dial gages will help.
It takes me about 15 minutes to adjust my table saw to 45
degrees and get it right, so you'll want to plan a bunch of
your cuts ahead of time and do 'em on a single setup.
Because the cheapo saws vibrate and have plastic
deformation issues, you'll need to adjust, make a test cut
or two, THEN verify the angle after the parts have settled in.
The long settling-in phase is why cast iron is preferred for
saws...

Log in

HomeOwnersHub.com is a website for homeowners and building and maintenance pros. It is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.